Augustinerkloster St. Annen, Eisleben

Following the division of the House of Mansfeld in 1501, Count Albrecht IV of Mansfeld-Hinterort established a new settlement west of the old town in 1511 to promote mining. This "New Town near Eisleben" was granted town rights. When Emperor Maximilian I demanded the annulment of these rights in 1514, Albrecht resisted and handed over St. Annen Church to the Augustinian Hermits on July 16, 1515. Archaeological investigations in 2013 revealed that construction of the monastery likely began in July 1515. Initially, a grand convent building in Renaissance style was planned, to adjoin the south wall of a still-under-construction transept of St. Annen Church. After the walls reached about one meter in height, the plan was altered; the space was filled, and the floor level raised, possibly due to groundwater issues. Construction then continued in simpler forms, featuring a courtyard, cloister, and an upper half-timbered floor comprising four rooms, including two plank-paneled rooms with decorated wooden ceilings. The church's roof structure was erected in a single construction phase during the first half of 1516. On May 22, 1516, Corpus Christi Day, the monastery was consecrated with eight monks. Martin Luther, then district vicar, and Johannes Staupitz, general vicar of the order, jointly participated in the Corpus Christi procession. From 1517, Caspar Güttel, a supporter of Luther, served as prior of the Eisleben Augustinian monastery. Luther himself conducted a visitation here in 1518, and in 1520, the Eisleben branch of the order hosted the general convent where Staupitz resigned his office. Following the decision of the Reform Congregation chapter in Wittenberg in 1522, which allowed any monk to leave the monastery, the Eisleben convent also dissolved. Construction work on the monastery ceased, with only Caspar Güttel remaining in the premises. Despite later reuses, a half-timbered cell block structurally connected to the roof truss remained in the attic. Five cells on the east side with windows and dormers, and two more on the courtyard side, are clearly visible from the outside, all accessed via a large corridor. The late Gothic choir of St. Annen Church was consecrated in January 1516. The church itself, a Renaissance building, was completed after a long interruption in construction from 1585 to 1608, promoted by Countess Margareta von Mansfeld-Hinterort. During this period, the nave, west choir, and north tower were added, and the church received Renaissance furnishings including a stone picture Bible, a coffered ceiling, and a pulpit.

The former Augustinian Monastery of St. Annen is situated in Lutherstadt Eisleben, a town in the Mansfeld-Südharz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Today, the Augustinian Monastery of St. Annen is a cultural monument. Parts of the original monastic complex, such as the cell block in the attic, are still preserved and bear witness to its historical use.

• Hinterort Castle (Schloss, approx. 592 m away)
• Mittelort Castle (Schloss, approx. 837 m away)
• Wimmelburg Manor House (Herren- und Gutshaus, approx. 1848 m away)
• Helfta Monastery (Sacred building, approx. 3702 m away)